N.C.-based Marine volunteers to raise assistance dogs

September 2, 2012

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) - At home, 5-month-old Hero is a typical playful and curious black lab, one that loves belly rubs and games of fetch. At work, he is an attentive and protective companion that will one day become a future guide dog for the blind and visually impaired.

Hero is the 13th puppy that has come into Staff Sgt. Brad Vande Hei's life for a great cause. Since age 11, Vande Hei has seen the impact that raising a leader dog has in the lives of host families and future leader dog owners. Growing up in Wisconsin, his parents served as volunteer puppy raisers through a Michigan based organization called Leader Dogs for the Blind.

Since 1939, the organization has provided free guide dogs and training to people who are blind and visually impaired to enhance their mobility, independence and quality of life. Volunteers commit months of time, energy and love through housebreaking, daily care and teaching basic obedience. The puppies are returned to Leader Dog when they are 12 to 15 months old and continue their journey through formal guide dog training. Vande Hei said that he still remembers the name of each dog his family has raised over the years.

Article Photos

AP photoTwin City Animal Shelter volunteer Teah Pray gives some attention to Dusty, a chocolate lab found with gunshot wounds in Lead, S.D. The dog is up for adoption at the shelter. Pray says she’s absolutely stunned that someone would inflict such injuries.

"At 11 years old, the hardest thing is seeing the dog go, but the good thing is that you will always have a puppy around," Vande Hei said. "It's the best temporary pet you could ever have."

Now a Marine and professional dog trainer with his own family, Vande Hei decided to continue his passion to help Leader Dogs for the Blind. There are about 400 puppy raisers in 22 states and Canada. However, Vande Hei is only one of two in North Carolina for the organization. He hopes to encourage other residents to commit at least one year to making a difference in lives of others.

"Even as attached as I am to him, it gets easier (giving the dog up) every time," Vande Hei said. "If you go in with the attitude that's it's your dog, you realize that it won't be. If you go in with attitude that this is what I'm going to do for someone else, then it does get easier."

Vande Hei and his wife Kim welcomed Hero into their Hubert home at nine weeks. Hero easily became a loving member of the family, which includes two other pets.

"He's very quiet and loves to chew on his toy; sometimes we don't even realize he's here unless he needs to go outside," Kim said. "It's great to give back to someone who needs him. It's like another limb for someone who is blind. It feels nice to do something like this for someone else."

Volunteer raisers are responsible for teaching the puppies basic obedience, house manners and socialization in a variety of environments outside of the home. Puppy raisers take them out into the world to get them used to restaurants, shopping areas and crowds.

Local establishments like Sam's Club and the Jacksonville Mall have eagerly welcomed Hero. Vande Hei places objects randomly in an area as obstacles and wears a blindfold to help Hero learn to guide him around potentially dangerous situations.

"So far he is above the curve," Vande Hei said. "He is very attentive; he goes into pure focus and is in tune with everything that is going on."

Volunteering requires a selfless attitude, time and dedication to take full responsibility for the puppy. Host trainers under Leader Dogs for the Blind spend an average of $2,000 a year for general care of the dog, which is tax deductible. Local animal clinics and groomers are also sought to provide free or discounted services for leader dogs.

"If someone would be willing to do that, it would take a huge burden off of us," Vande Hei said.

At the request of the new handler, raisers can reunite with the dogs to see how they are interacting in a new environment after leaving.

"The dog never forgets you, even years later," Vande Hei said.

Vande Hei would like to establish a local chapter to welcome others to raise future guide dogs. He said that becoming a puppy raiser can be one of the most rewarding experiences for everyone involved.

"It doesn't matter if you live in an apartment or rent or own a home, the idea of wanting to help is the biggest thing," he said. "There are so many people who are blind and disabled who can't live a full life.

"Every person who can see should look at that and ask, 'Why can't I do that and help?'"